Records

Referees

Crew Chief

DRABIKOVSKY, VOLODYMR, Ukraine

Referee

KOLAR, ROMAN, Slovenia

Umpire

VOJINOVIC, RADOMIR, Montenegro

The Take

Two teams with very different goals in Group C battle each other in Vitoria, Spain, where Caja Laboral hosts Maroussi BC on Wednesday. Caja Laboral has already qualified for the Top 16 and is tied for first place in Group C with its destiny and ability to finish atop the group in its hands. Meanwhile, Maroussi is tied for fourth place in the group. It can advance to the Top 16 this week with a win against Laboral and a Lottomatica road loss at Maccabi Electra. There is good news for Laboral, as Marcelo Huertas and Walter Herrmann are back in the team and ready to face Laboral. Huertas arrives to offer quickness and determination at point guard, sharing the playmaking duties with Sean Singletary and Pau Ribas. Singletary will have a tough test against Billy Keys in one of the most important matchups in the game. Huertas will try to use his experience and speed against Igor Milosevic. Michalis Pelekanos and Jamon Lucas are expected to see most of the minutes at the wings for the guests. Pelekanos, a great defensive player, must do his best to stop Carl English, who has been in great shape recently. Kostas Kaimakoglou is ready for a big battle against Herrmann. Marios Batis will come off the Maroussi bench to offer defense and shooting range, while Lucas will test his scoring skills against do-it-all swingman Fernando San Emeterio. Maroussi must stop Laboral’s franchise center, Tiago Splitter, a dominant big man with great speed and footwork. Splitter leads a very versatile frontcourt that also features three-point bomber Mirza Teletovic, mobile big man Lior Eliyahu and center Stanko Barac, who is having a career-best season this far. Splitter will test his strength against blue-collar center Jared Homan. Teletovic pits his shooting skills against Stevan Nadjfeji, who has downed 8 of 13 from downtown so far this Euroleague season. Meanwhile, Eliyahu must make the most of his quickness against Pat Calathes. Dimitrios Mavroeidis may be the X-factor for Maroussi to his determination, good hands and know-how down low. Maroussi must stop Tau's transition game and control the pace to increase its chances to win the game. Laboral has to get Splitter and Teletovic involved and dominate the defensive boards. Either way this game has the signs of being a 40-minute thriller that will keep fans on the edges of their seats.

REFEREES: Volodymyr Drabikovskyi, Roman Kolar, Radomir Vojinovic

GAME NOTES

Caja Laboral

Walter Herrmann has returned from injury and is set to play in his first Euroleague game in over three-and-a-half years. He last played in the Euroleague for Unicaja in March 2006.

Mirza Teletovic has made multiple three-pointers in each of his last five games. He is shooting 51.3% from downtown over that stretch after shooting 23.5% in the first three games of the season.

Fernando San Emeterio scored a season-high 16 points in a Week 4 win at Maroussi.

San Emeterio has made at least 1 three-pointer in six consecutive Euroleague appearances.

Tiago Splitter leads all Euroleague centers in assists this season with 2.2 per game.

Stevan Nadjfeji scored a Euroleague career-high 22 points in his team’s last game before the winter break.

Marios Batis has recorded a steal in seven consecutive Euroleague appearances. Michalis Pelekanos leads all Euroleague guards in blocks per game this season with 4 in six games (0.7 bpg.). Maroussi enters Week 9 with five different players averaging double figures in points: Kostas Kaimakoglou (11 ppg.), Stevan Nadjfeji (11 ppg.), Dimitrios Mavroeidis (10.8 ppg.), Jared Homan (10.6 ppg.) and Jamon Lucas (10.6 ppg.), while a sixth player, point guard Billy Keys (9.5 ppg.) is not far behind.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Euroleague.net

Quotes Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO

Caja Laboral

"I think we are ready to face Maroussi in good condition. I hope nobody in the team thinks it's an easy game because it's a very important one for us. If we are able to win, we will secure one of the two first positions in our group. I hope nobody will relax against them, as they already showed they are a dangerous team. They beat Olimpija and Lottomatica on the road and only a miracle shot in the last second prevented them from beating CSKA Moscow. I would say that their best asset is that they play as a team. They are a very patient team in offense, they have very good ball circulation and are very dangerous in transition. We must pay attention to that."

BARTZOKAS, GEORGIOS

Maroussi BC

"Caja Laboral is one of the traditional teams of the contemporary Euroleague and also has a reputation for its tough home court. For Maroussi this is another test to prove our character and concentration in such a difficult game. To be honest, I don’t want my players thinking of our possibilities to reach the Top 16, but only try to have a good game and the best possible result. From the tactical point of view, our main effort is to control the rhythm of the match and not allow them to play the way they like and they are used to."

Players

RIBAS, PAU

Caja Laboral

"We need the win to be able to fight for the first place of the group in Moscow. It won’t be easy, but we must try. If we are able to beat Maroussi on Wednesday we will secure the second spot, at least, which is a great achievement. Maroussi will be a dangerous contender, as thet are fighting to clinch the fourth spot of the group to qualify to the Top 16. We must take advantage of the home court factor to defeat them. We must try to do the same things we did in Athens to repeat a win."

KAIMAKOGLOU, KOSTAS

Maroussi BC

"We are in a good shape, since we have six consecutive victories in the Greek League and we are going there with a positive psychology. On the opposite side, so far Caja Laboral is the only Euroleague team that beat us easily and didn’t let us to react and fight for the victory. So we feel like having a big challenge: To show that since then we have progressed a lot."

Caja Laboral stayed in the race to win Group C by downing Maroussi BC 73-65 in Vitoria, Spain on Wednesday night. Laboral improved to 7-2 and has the chance to win Group C if it beats CSKA in Moscow, Russia, next week. Meanwhile, Maroussi went down to 3-6 but will keep fourth place if Maccabi Electra beats Lottomatica Roma in Tel Aviv, Israel, tomorrow. Maroussi will reach the Top 16 if it beats Maccabi next week and Roma loses at least once. If can also go trhough losing against Maccabi if Roma loses both games - tomorrow and next week. Fernando San Emeterio and Mirza Teletovic paced the winners each with 15 points. Tiago Splitter added 14 on 7-of-9 two-pointers for Laboral. Billy Keys and Dimitrios Mavroeidis each had 12 points for Maroussi while Jared Homan added 11 for the guests, that led 2-14 early. Splitter and Teletovic brought Laboral back to life, 16-19, after 10 minutes. A three-pointer by Carl English gave Laboral its first lead, 31-30, near halftime. A driving basket by Kostas Kaimakoglou allowed Maroussi to ge tits last tie, 34-34, soon after the break. San Emeterio led a 15-0 run that broke the game open, 49-34, as Maroussi only rallied once the outcome was clear.

Jamon Lucas got Maroussi going with an alleyoop dunk and Kaimakoglou struck from downtown for a 0-5 lead. Laboral struggled to score in the early going until San Emeterio stepped up with a driving basket. Homan shined with a big basket in the low post and added a four-meter jumper to boost the guests' lead to 2-9. Maroussi kept excelling in defense, not allowing Laboral to circulate the ball. Meanwhile, a floating jumper by Kaimakoglou and a three-pointer by Pelekanos made all Laboral fans start to wonder at 2-14. Splitter scored down low, Teletovic dunked it and Marcelo Huertas scored off an inbound steal to get the crowd involved at 8-14. Huertas fed Splitter for an easy basket but Homan bettered that with a layup-plus-foul. Coach Dusko Ivanovic opted for a taller lineup with Walter Herrmann at small forward. Teletovic buried a three-pointer to bring Laboral back to life at 14-19. The hosts had adjusted their defense and Teletovic beat the buzzer with a floating jumper that fixed the score at 16-19 after 10 minutes.

Homan scored again early in the second quarter, as Maroussi tried to open the court with Stevan Nadjfeji at power forward. Laboral managed to get Eliyahu involved, as he scored twice in the paint to keep his team as close as 20-23. He didn't find much help around, however, while Nadjfeji shined with a backdoor layup. Laboral opted to speed up the game tempo now with Sean Singletary and English at both guard spots. Stanko Barac and Sean Singletary sank free throws to make Maroussi call a much-needed timeout at 23-25. The guests had started to miss open shots but a three-pointer by Keys boosted Maroussi's lead to 23-28. English answered with a wide open corner triple but Maroussi kept dominating the game tempo, using long possessions and closing all passing lines. Keys sank free throws that San Emeterio erased with a driving layup for a 28-30 Laboral deficit. A running three-pointer by English gave Laboral its first lead, 31-30. Keys sank a huge step-back jumper to put Maroussi back ahead, 31-32, at halftime.

Laboral try to speed the game tempo with Huertas at point guard right after the break. Teletovic shined with a layup-plus-foul but a driving basket by Kaimakoglou tied the game again, 34-34. San Emeterio beat the shot clock with a wild driving basket and Splitter added a reverse layup to get the crowd involved at 38-34. San Emeterio scored again in a quick transition to make Maroussi call timeout. The guests kept struggling to score. Meanwhile, English shined with a layup, San Emeterio sank free throws and Teletovic nailed his trademark shot from way downtown to boost Laboral's lead to 47-34. Splitter fed San Emeterio for a layup that capped a game-breaking 15-0 run. Maroussi had been scoreless for more than 5 minutes until Igor Milosevic downed a three-pointer. San Emeterio answered from downtown, as Homan tried to change things for the guests. Keys followed an acrobatic layup with a three-pointer but a dominant Splitter took over with a wild alleyoop dunk that kept Laboral way ahead, 58-44, after 30 minutes.

Maroussi needed a quick comeback to keep its options alive but Laboral kept dominating the game with its outstanding man-to-man defense. San Emeterio found Splitter twice for consecutive baskets that sealed the outcome, 62-44, with 8 minutes left. Maroussi kept trying, however, as Laboral opted to use its second lineup now. Lucas followed a layup with a fast break dunk to give the guests some hope at 62-48. Eliyahu set the crowd on fire with a two-handed dunk but Mavroeidis and back-to-back baskets by Milosevic and Pelekanos got Maroussi as close as 66-55 with over 3 minutes left. Pau Ribas sank a three-pointer and by the time Eliyahu scored in transition, everything was said and done already as Maroussi's late rally was too little, too late for the guests. Laboral will fight for first place against CSKA next week, in already a modern classic showdown in Euroleague's recent history. Meanwhile, Maroussi hopes to grab its Top 16 berth at home against Maccabi in Game 10.

Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO

Caja Laboral

"We played very poorly in the first half, without aggressiveness, we had a soft approach. We were very cold in the beginning. We were able to change the trend after halftime. We improved and we fixed it. I don’t see the reason why we did so badly in the first half. We talked about it after the last Spanish League game but we repeated the same mistakes. It’s true that we are humans and things like this can happen sometimes, but a team that wants to do something big and win titles cannot behave this way. I hope we will be able to improve this."

BARTZOKAS, GEORGIOS

Maroussi BC

"We knew before the game that this was a difficult place to go for the win. Not only because Caja Laboral is a very good team, but because I think they are in a good momentum right now and they showed they are in good shape. We knew also that we needed to maintain a high level of concentration for 40 minutes. We started playing very well, we remained ahead at halftime, but our third quarter was pathetic. We missed layups and open shots and that made us lose confidence. If you let Caja Laboral play fast and find open shots, you won’t have any opportunity. We tried hard in the last period. we managed to make the difference smaller, which was good. Now we have the last game against Maccabi at home and I think that if we win we are going to play in the Top 16, which is a great success for us. We still have ambition, we believe on ourselves and I hope that playing in our arena, we can make it."

Players

HERRMANN, WALTER

Caja Laboral

"It took us a lot of effort to grab the win tonight. We tried to play a good game from the beginning, but Marousi did a great job in the first half and prevented us from finding our momentum. It happens sometimes that you cannot start like you would like to. They slowed the pace of the game and we needed a lot of time to find a good rhythm in offense. Once we achieved it we were able to improve our game and take a good margin and win. I felt good tonight, especially physically. I steel need to recover the feelings when playing with the ball, because I didn’t have enough team practices, but I think it’s only a matter of time to feel more comfortable."